Bernard Suzanne: Nous et noein dans les dialogues de Platon

Un certain nombre de termes dérivés de la racine noos/nous jouent un grand rôle dans les dialogues et en particulier dans les discussions dont on croit pouvoir extraire une « théorie des idées » attribuable à Platon. C'est par exemple le cas de noèton (voir la page consacrée à ce mot), en particulier dans les livres VI et VII de la République, ou encore de dianoia. Cette page donne quelques éléments pour mieux comprendre ce terme, ainsi que le verbe qui en dérive, noein, et ses composés, et retrouver les usages qui en sont faits dans les dialogues.
 

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Lloyd P. Gerson: Some Aspects of Nous and Noesis in Plato

Sometimes scholars of ancient Greek philosophy—perhaps unconsciously—substitute translation for explanation. This is particularly evident in translations of the language of what used to be called higher cognition. We read, for example, that nou'" for Plato is "mind" or "reason" or "intellect" and that the activity in which nou'" engages, namely, novhsi", is "intellection" or "intuition" or "thinking" or "understanding" or "knowing," and so on. One need not quarrel with these translations in order to point out they are just placeholders for a genuine account of Plato's intentions or meaning. This is particularly evident given that the linguistic and conceptual apparatus surrounding the use of such English terms have no clear Platonic application. To take one simple example, in English it is easy to suppose that understanding is often equivalent to cognizing a term or concept where the criterion of "cognizing" is success in their application. For Plato, by contrast, there are very good grounds indeed for thinking that understanding intelligible reality is not equivalent to understanding words or concepts. If that is so, then what is understanding supposed by Plato to be? Similar considerations could be adduced for virtually every English term used to translate nou'" and nohvsi".
In this paper, I want to advance one general and one specific claim. The general claim is that Plato's approach to cognition or, if one likes, to epistemology, is incomprehensible apart from his metaphysics. The specific claim is that Plato has something precise in mind when he is talking about novhsi". To put it emblematically and, I confess, anachronistically, he is talking about the cognition of material identity. In a way, this type of cognition is for Plato the daily bread of philosophy. In addition, as we shall see in a moment, its ubiquity and irreducibility to any other type of cognition is itself a powerful reason supporting of Plato's metaphysics.
I am henceforth going to use the placeholders "intellect" and "intellection" for nou'" and novhsi", respectively. I do this with a certain amount of diffidence and with no other intention than to preserve the etymological connection between the two terms and the terms for their objects, namely, ta; nohtav and ta; noouvmena, or "intelligibles".

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Philippe Soual: L’héroïsme de la liberté chez Descartes

Cet article étudie la conception cartésienne de la liberté, d’abord dans son essence métaphysique, en tant que résolution de l’ego singulier à la liberté éclairée, dans la pensée et dans l’action, et ensuite dans ses conséquences morales et politiques. Il montre que Descartes énonce une conception héroïque de la liberté, en vertu de la noblesse du libre arbitre présent en tout homme, ce qui implique une intériorisation et une universalisation de l’idéal aristocratique, dans une morale de la générosité et de la charité dans l’amitié. Il esquisse à partir de là une politique cartésienne possible, dans la figure de l’individu et dans celle du prince, en tant qu’union des volontés infinies et libres, et en tant que vie qui ouvre aux plus héroïques actions humaines, dans un monde où il s’agit d’être homme de bien.  
This article studies the cartesian conception of freedom, first in its metaphysical essence, as resolution of the singular ego to enlightened freedom, both in thought and in action, and then in its moral and political consequences. It shows that Descartes announces a heroic conception of freedom, by virtue of the nobility of the free will present in all men, which implies an interiorization and a universalization of the aristocratic ideal, in a morality of generosity and charity in friendship. It sketches from there a cartesian policy liable in the person of the individual and in that of the prince, as the union of infinite and free wills, and as the life which opens on the most heroic of human actions, in a world which places importance on being a gentleman.

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Heidegger e Foucault, críticos da modernidade (Heidegger and Foucault, critics of modernity)

Heidegger and Foucault, critics of modernity: humanism, technics and biopolitics
André Duarte1

RESUMO
Discute-se o diagnóstico crítico da Modernidade proposto por Heidegger e Foucault enfatizando as suas continuidades. Em linhas gerais, pode-se afirmar que, em Heidegger, é a reflexão filosófica que se assume enquanto essencialmente histórica, ao passo que, para Foucault, é a investigação essencialmente histórica que assume o caráter de reflexão filosófica. No entanto, ainda que a partir de démarches teóricas distintas, ambos consideram que a compreensão a respeito de quem somos, hoje, depende de uma análise da constituição da modernidade como época histórica determinada pelo humanismo, isto é, pela concepção do homem como senhor da totalidade do ente (Heidegger) e pela concepção do homem como sujeito e objeto de relações de poder-saber (Foucault). Tal mutação epocal na concepção do humano foi decisiva para a liberação da revolução científica que culminou na técnica moderna e na biopolítica. Se, como afirma Foucault, a biopolítica é a política de nosso tempo, ou seja, de uma época que politizou o fenômeno da vida por meio de sua gestão técnico-administrativa, então a técnica moderna, que implica a concepção do homem como sujeito assujeitado pela tecnologia, constitui a instância por meio da qual a vida humana pode ser simultaneamente produzida e aniquilada por meios científicos.
Palavras-chave: Foucault; Heidegger; modernidade; humanismo; técnica moderna; biopolítica.

ABSTRACT
I intend to discuss Foucault's and Heidegger's critical diagnosis of Modernity emphasizing its continuities. Generally speaking, it is possible to argue that in Heidegger philosophical reflection assumes itself as essentially historical, while in Foucault's case historical investigation assumes itself as an essentially philosophical task. Although recognizing the differences between Foucault's and Heidegger's general theoretical approaches, I argue that both consider that, in order to understand who we are today, it is necessary to elaborate a critical understanding of Modernity. In both cases, Modernity is viewed as a historical epoch characterized by humanism, i.e., by the projection of human beings as 'master' of all beings (Heidegger) and as subject and object of power-knowledge relationships (Foucault). This epocal mutation in the way man is conceived was decisive in order to liberate the modern scientific revolution that later culminated in modern technology and in biopolitics. If, as Foucault says, biopolitics is the politics of our time, i.e., of an epoch that has politicized life by means of the calculated administration of all phenomena of life-population, then modern technique, which implies the conception of man as the subjected-subject of technology, constitutes the instance by which human life can be protected, promoted, generated, as well as destroyed and discarded.
Keywords: Foucault; Heidegger; Modernity; humanism; modern technology; biopolitics.

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Dov M. Gabbay, John Woods “Mediaeval and Renaissance Logic, Volume 2″

Dov M. Gabbay, John Woods “Mediaeval and Renaissance Logic, Volume 2″
North Holland | 2008-03-25 | ISBN: 0444516255 | 728 pages | PDF | 4 Mb
Medieval and Renaissance Logic is an indispensable research tool for anyone interested in the development of logic, including researchers, graduate and senior undergraduate students in logic, history of logic, mathematics, history of mathematics, computer science and AI, linguistics, cognitive science, argumentation theory, philosophy, and the history of ideas.
- Provides detailed and comprehensive chapters covering the entire range of modal logic
- Contains the latest scholarly discoveries and interpretative insights that answer many questions in the field of logic

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Descartes, by Frans Hals, and with a little bit more

A imagem “http://www.gilsoncamargo.com.br/blog/uploads/2008/04/descartes_gif_luciodearaujo.gif” contém erros e não pode ser exibida.
from here

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Giovanni Casertano: A cidade, o verdadeiro e o falso em Parmênides

CASERTANO, Giovanni. A cidade, o verdadeiro e o falso em Parmênides. Kriterion, jul./dez. 2007, vol.48, no.116, p.307-327. ISSN 0100-512X.
Resumo
Part of the late 19th century philosophical historiography attempts to renew the image of Parmenides of Elea, consolidated by tradition as an isolated, strange and venerable philosopher of immobilism, recovering the intimate relations he had with the cultural demands of his time. The purpose of this article is to reconnect Parmenides with his time by presenting the lively thought of a man who was not only a philosopher but also a scientist and a politician of great relevance.
Palavras-chave : Parmenides of Elea; History of Ancient Philosophy; Pre-Socratic Philosophy.
Abstract
Part of the late 19th century philosophical historiography attempts to renew the image of Parmenides of Elea, consolidated by tradition as an isolated, strange and venerable philosopher of immobilism, recovering the intimate relations he had with the cultural demands of his time. The purpose of this article is to reconnect Parmenides with his time by presenting the lively thought of a man who was not only a philosopher but also a scientist and a politician of great relevance. 

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John Marenbon - Early Medieval Philosophy (480-1150): An Introduction



John Marenbon “Early Medieval Philosophy (480-1150): An Introduction"
Routledge | 1988-07-11 | ISBN: 041500070X | 216 pages | PDF | 1,1 Mb

Contents

Preface to the second edition vii
Preface xiii
Note on references xv
Part One The antique heritage 1
1 Platonism in the ancient world 3
Plato 4
From Platonism to Neoplatonism 6
Plotinus, Porphyry and Latin Neoplatonism 8
2 Neoplatonism and the Church Fathers 13
Augustine’s treatment of pagan philosophy 14
The Greek Christian Platonists 17
Iamblichus, Proclus and the pseudo-Dionysius 18
3 The antique logical tradition 20
Aristotle 20
Logic in late antiquity 23
4 Boethius 27
The treatises on the arts 28
The logical works 28
The ‘Opuscula sacra’ 35
The ‘Consolation of Philosophy’ 39
Part Two The beginnings of medieval philosophy 43
5 The earliest medieval philosophers 45
From Cassiodorus to Alcuin 45
The circle of Alcuin 48
6 Philosophy in the age of John Scottus Eriugena 53
Ratramnus of Corbie and Macarius the Irishman 53
John Scottus and the controversy on
predestination 55
John Scottus and the Greeks 58
The Periphyseon 60
7 The aftermath of Eriugena: philosophy at the
end of the ninth and the beginning of the
tenth century 71
The influence of Eriugena 71
The traditions of glosses to school texts 73
Remigius of Auxerre 78
8 Logic and scholarship in the tenth and earlier
eleventh century 80
Tenth-century logic 80
Antique philosophy and the Christian scholar 84
9 Logic and theology in the age of Anselm 90
Dialectic and its place in theology 90
Anselm 94
Anselm’s pupils and influence 104
Logic and grammar at the end of the eleventh
century 105
Part Three 1100–50 111
10 Masters and schools 113
11 The antique philosophical tradition:
scholarship, science and poetry 119
William of Conches 119
Minor cosmological works 124
Bernard Silvestris 125
12 Grammar and logic 128
Grammar 128
Logic 130
Abelard’s philosophy of logic 135
13 Theology 143
The varieties of theology 143
The ‘Opuscula sacra’ 145
Gilbert of Poitiers 148
14 Abelard and the beginnings of medieval ethics 157
Abbreviations 164
Bibliography 165
Primary works 165
Secondary works 174
Additional bibliography and notes 185
Index 192

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Pierre Klossowski - Nietzsche y el círculo vicioso

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Tenemos aquí un libro que dará cuenta de una rara ignorancia: ¿cómo ceñirse a hablar del “pensamiento de Nietzsche” sin señalar en ningún momento lo que ha sido dicho al respecto? Existe el riesgo de volver sobre pistas ya seguidas en más de una ocasión, sobre huellas tantas veces indicadas –plantear imprudentemente cuestiones superadas– y así dar muestras de negligencia, de una falta total de escrúpulos en relación con las minuciosas exégesis emprendidas hasta hoy, para interpretar las mismas señales como destellos de calor que un destino sigue arrojando sobre el horizonte de nuestro siglo. ¿Cuál es entonces nuestro propósito, si es que tenemos uno? Hagamos de cuenta que se trata de un falso estudio. Al leer a Nietzsche en el texto, al escucharlo hablar para “nosotros mismos” quizá lleguemos a oír el murmullo, la respiración, los estallidos de cólera y de risa de la prosa más insinuante que haya dado la lengua alemana, y también la más irritante. La palabra de Nietzsche adquiere, para quien sabe escucharla, una virtud más contundente todavía, en la medida en que la historia contemporánea, los acontecimientos, el universo comienzan a responder de manera más o menos difusa a las cuestiones planteadas por él hace ochenta años. Intentaremos comprender la forma en que Nietzsche interrogaba el devenir próximo o lejano que hoy es nuestra actualidad cotidiana –que él previó convulsiva, hasta el punto de caricaturizar su pensamiento con nuestras mismas convulsiones–; en qué sentido su interrogación describe lo que vivimos actualmente.

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Cambridge Companion to Hegel

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Few thinkers are more controversial in the history of philosophy than Hegel. He has been dismissed as a charlatan and obscurantist, but also praised as one of the greatest thinkers in modern philosophy. No one interested in philosophy can afford to ignore him. This volume considers all the major aspects of Hegel’s work: epistemology, logic, ethics, political philosophy, aesthetics, philosophy of history, philosophy of religion. Special attention is devoted to problems in the interpretation of Hegel: the unity of the Phenomenology of Spirit; the value of the dialectical method; the status of his logic; the nature of his politics. A final group of chapters treats Hegel’s complex historical legacy: the development of Hegelianism and its growth into a left and right-wing school; the relation of Hegel and Marx; and the subtle connections between Hegel and contemporary analytic philosophy.
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A Naturalist's Voyage Round the World, by Charles Darwin

A very nice online edition, organized by Gutenberg

 

 

CONTENTS

Chapter I
Porto Praya — Ribeira Grande — Atmospheric Dust with Infusoria — Habits of a Sea-slug and Cuttle-fish — St. Paul's Rocks, non-volcanic — Singular Incrustations — Insects the first Colonists of Islands — Fernando Noronha — Bahia — Burnished Rocks — Habits of a Diodon — Pelagic Confervæ and Infusoria — Causes of discoloured Sea.
Chapter II
Rio de Janeiro — Excursion north of Cape Frio — Great Evaporation — Slavery — Botofogo Bay — Terrestrial Planariae — Clouds on the Corcovado — Heavy Rain — Musical Frogs — Phosphorescent insects — Elater, springing powers of — Blue Haze — Noise made by a Butterfly — Entomology — Ants — Wasp killing a Spider — Parasitical Spider — Artifices of an Epeira — Gregarious Spider — Spider with an unsymmetrical web.
Chapter III
Monte Video — Maldonado — Excursion to R. Polanco — Lazo and Bolas — Partridges — Absence of trees — Deer — Capybara, or River Hog — Tucutuco — Molothrus, cuckoo-like habits — Tyrant-flycatcher — Mocking-bird — Carrion Hawks — Tubes formed by lightning — House struck.
Chapter IV
Rio Negro — Estancias attacked by the Indians — Salt-Lakes — Flamingoes — R. Negro to R. Colorado — Sacred Tree — Patagonian Hare — Indian Families — General Rosas — Proceed to Bahia Blanca — Sand Dunes — Negro Lieutenant — Bahia Blanca — Saline incrustations — Punta Alta — Zorillo.
Chapter V
Bahia Blanca — Geology — Numerous gigantic extinct Quadrupeds — Recent Extinction — Longevity of Species — Large Animals do not require a luxuriant vegetation — Southern Africa — Siberian Fossils — Two Species of Ostrich — Habits of Oven-bird — Armadilloes — Venomous Snake, Toad, Lizard — Hybernation of Animals — Habits of Sea-Pen — Indian Wars and Massacres — Arrowhead — Antiquarian Relic.
Chapter VI
Set out for Buenos Ayres — Rio Sauce — Sierra Ventana — Third Posta — Driving Horses — Bolas — Partridges and Foxes — Features of the country — Long-legged Plover — Teru-tero — Hail-storm — Natural enclosures in the Sierra Tapalguen — Flesh of Puma — Meat Diet — Guardia del Monte — Effects of cattle on the Vegetation — Cardoon — Buenos Ayres — Corral where cattle are slaughtered.
Chapter VII
Excursion to St. Fé — Thistle Beds — Habits of the Bizcacha — Little Owl — Saline streams — Level plains — Mastodon — St. Fé — Change in landscape — Geology — Tooth of extinct Horse — Relation of the Fossil and recent Quadrupeds of North and South America — Effects of a great drought — Parana — Habits of the Jaguar — Scissor-beak — Kingfisher, Parrot, and Scissor-tail — Revolution — Buenos Ayres — State of Government.
Chapter VIII
Excursion to Colonia del Sacramiento — Value of an Estancia — Cattle, how counted — Singular breed of Oxen — Perforated pebbles — Shepherd-dogs — Horses broken-in, Gauchos riding — Character of Inhabitants — Rio Plata — Flocks of Butterflies — Aeronaut Spiders — Phosphorescence of the Sea — Port Desire — Guanaco — Port St. Julian — Geology of Patagonia — Fossil gigantic Animal — Types of Organisation constant — Change in the Zoology of America — Causes of Extinction.
Chapter IX
Santa Cruz — Expedition up the River — Indians — Immense streams of basaltic lava — Fragments not transported by the river — Excavation of the valley — Condor, habits of — Cordillera — Erratic boulders of great size — Indian relics — Return to the ship — Falkland Islands — Wild horses, cattle, rabbits — Wolf-like fox — Fire made of bones — Manner of hunting wild cattle — Geology — Streams of stones — Scenes of violence — Penguin — Geese — Eggs of Doris — Compound animals.
Chapter X
Tierra del Fuego, first arrival — Good Success Bay — An account of the Fuegians on board — Interview with the savages — Scenery of the forests — Cape Horn — Wigwam Cove — Miserable condition of the savages — Famines — Cannibals — Matricide — Religious feelings — Great Gale — Beagle Channel — Ponsonby Sound — Build wigwams and settle the Fuegians — Bifurcation of the Beagle Channel — Glaciers — Return to the Ship — Second visit in the Ship to the Settlement — Equality of condition amongst the natives.
Chapter XI
Strait of Magellan — Port Famine — Ascent of Mount Tarn — Forests — Edible fungus — Zoology — Great Seaweed — Leave Tierra del Fuego — Climate — Fruit-trees and productions of the southern coasts — Height of snow-line on the Cordillera — Descent of glaciers to the sea — Icebergs formed — Transportal of boulders — Climate and productions of the Antarctic Islands — Preservation of frozen carcasses — Recapitulation.
Chapter XII
Valparaiso — Excursion to the foot of the Andes — Structure of the land — Ascend the Bell of Quillota — Shattered masses of greenstone — Immense valleys — Mines — State of miners — Santiago — Hot-baths of Cauquenes — Gold-mines — Grinding-mills — Perforated stones — Habits of the Puma — El Turco and Tapacolo — Humming-birds.
Chapter XIII
Chiloe — General aspect — Boat excursion — Native Indians — Castro — Tame fox — Ascend San Pedro — Chonos Archipelago — Peninsula of Tres Montes — Granitic range — Boat-wrecked sailors — Low's Harbour — Wild potato — Formation of peat — Myopotamus, otter and mice — Cheucau and Barking-bird — Opetiorhynchus — Singular character of ornithology — Petrels.
Chapter XIV
San Carlos, Chiloe — Osorno in eruption, contemporaneously with Aconcagua and Coseguina — Ride to Cucao — Impenetrable forests — Valdivia — Indians — Earthquake — Concepcion — Great earthquake — Rocks fissured — Appearance of the former towns — The sea black and boiling — Direction of the vibrations — Stones twisted round — Great Wave — Permanent Elevation of the land — Area of volcanic phenomena — The connection between the elevatory and eruptive forces — Cause of earthquakes — Slow elevation of mountain-chains.
Chapter XV
Valparaiso — Portillo Pass — Sagacity of mules — Mountain-torrents — Mines, how discovered — Proofs of the gradual elevation of the Cordillera — Effect of snow on rocks — Geological structure of the two main ranges, their distinct origin and upheaval — Great subsidence — Red snow — Winds — Pinnacles of snow — Dry and clear atmosphere — Electricity — Pampas — Zoology of the opposite sides of the Andes — Locusts — Great Bugs — Mendoza — Uspallata Pass — Silicified trees buried as they grew — Incas Bridge — Badness of the passes exaggerated — Cumbre — Casuchas — Valparaiso.
Chapter XVI
Coast-road to Coquimbo — Great loads carried by the miners — Coquimbo — Earthquake — Step-formed terraces — Absence of recent deposits — Contemporaneousness of the Tertiary formations — Excursion up the valley — Road to Guasco — Deserts — Valley of Copiapó — Rain and Earthquakes — Hydrophobia — The Despoblado — Indian ruins — Probable change of climate — River-bed arched by an earthquake — Cold gales of wind — Noises from a hill — Iquique — Salt alluvium — Nitrate of soda — Lima — Unhealthy country — Ruins of Callao, overthrown by an earthquake — Recent subsidence — Elevated shells on San Lorenzo, their decomposition — Plain with embedded shells and fragments of pottery — Antiquity of the Indian Race.
Chapter XVII
Galapagos Archipelago — The whole group volcanic — Number of craters — Leafless bushes — Colony at Charles Island — James Island — Salt-lake in crater — Natural history of the group — Ornithology, curious finches — Reptiles — Great tortoises, habits of — Marine lizard, feeds on seaweed — Terrestrial lizard, burrowing habits, herbivorous — Importance of reptiles in the Archipelago — Fish, shells, insects — Botany — American type of organisation — Differences in the species or races on different islands — Tameness of the birds — Fear of man an acquired instinct.
Chapter XVIII
Pass through the Low Archipelago — Tahiti — Aspect — Vegetation on the mountains — View of Eimeo — Excursion into the interior — Profound ravines — Succession of waterfalls — Number of wild useful plants — Temperance of the inhabitants — Their moral state — Parliament convened — New Zealand — Bay of Islands — Hippahs — Excursion to Waimate — Missionary establishment — English weeds now run wild — Waiomio — Funeral of a New Zealand woman — Sail for Australia.
Chapter XIX
Sydney — Excursion to Bathurst — Aspect of the woods — Party of natives — Gradual extinction of the aborigines — Infection generated by associated men in health — Blue Mountains — View of the grand gulf-like valleys — Their origin and formation — Bathurst, general civility of the lower orders — State of Society — Van Diemen's Land — Hobart Town — Aborigines all banished — Mount Wellington — King George's Sound — Cheerless aspect of the country — Bald Head, calcareous casts of branches of trees — Party of natives — Leave Australia.
Chapter XX
Keeling Island — Singular appearance — Scanty Flora — Transport of seeds — Birds and insects — Ebbing and flowing springs — Fields of dead coral — Stones transported in the roots of trees — Great crab — Stinging corals — Coral-eating fish — Coral formations — Lagoon islands or atolls — Depth at which reef-building corals can live — Vast areas interspersed with low coral islands — Subsidence of their foundations — Barrier-reefs — Fringing-reefs — Conversion of fringing-reefs into barrier-reefs, and into atolls — Evidence of changes in level — Breaches in barrier-reefs — Maldiva atolls, their peculiar structure — Dead and submerged reefs — Areas of subsidence and elevation — Distribution of volcanoes — Subsidence slow and vast in amount.
Chapter XXI
Mauritius, beautiful appearance of — Great crateriform ring of mountains — Hindoos — St. Helena — History of the changes in the vegetation — Cause of the extinction of land-shells — Ascension — Variation in the imported rats — Volcanic bombs — Beds of infusoria — Bahia, Brazil — Splendour of tropical scenery — Pernambuco — Singular reefs — Slavery — Return to England — Retrospect on our voyage.
Index

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Lorem Ipsum

"All testing, all confirmation and disconfirmation of a hypothesis takes place already within a system. And this system is not a more or less arbitrary and doubtful point of departure for all our arguments; no it belongs to the essence of what we call an argument. The system is not so much the point of departure, as the element in which our arguments have their life."
- Wittgenstein

Lorem Ipsum

"Le poète ne retient pas ce qu’il découvre ; l’ayant transcrit, le perd bientôt. En cela réside sa nouveauté, son infini et son péril"

René Char, La Bibliothèque est en feu (1956)


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